A. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of barricading systems, more specifically, a safety barricade that is installed upon a perimeter of a building or structure and used during or after construction in order to prevent objects from falling off of said building or structure.
In the construction realm there are many safety considerations that arise. This is especially true as it pertains to dropping objects from a building or structure. This is true regardless of whether the building or structure is under construction. What is needed is a system that can be easily installed onto and/or removed from an elevated platform, walkway, or stairway, and which prevents objects from falling there from.
The system as described below seeks to overcome the safety concerns with falling objects by providing a barricading system that can be installed on either a temporary or permanent basis, and which is adaptable for installation upon a plurality of surfaces and objects associated with a building or structure.
B. Discussion of the Prior Art
As a preliminary note, it should be stated that there is an ample amount of prior art that deals with barricading systems generally. However, no prior art discloses a barricading system that can be installed on a temporary or permanent basis for use with a building or structure so as to prevent objects from falling off of an elevated surface or floor; wherein the barricading system includes a mesh panel that clips into a plurality of uniquely defined clips, which support said mesh on or against an object or surface; wherein the plurality of uniquely defined clips are adapted for use with tubular objects, curbed surfaces, elongated edges, or to abut adjacent sections of mesh panels at varying angles; wherein the uniquely defined clips each include an eccentric pin joiner and a mesh clip button that attach onto the uniquely defined clip and which sandwich the mesh panel therein so as to secure the mesh panel to the respective clip; wherein a removal tool is included to aid in detaching the clips from the mesh panels and/or related surfaces.
The Thaler Patent Application Publication (U.S. Pub. No. 2006/0180390) discloses a roof fall protection apparatus that comprises several components that can be easily assembled and disassembled on site and that are adaptable to various building geometries. However, the apparatus requires at least two support members in order to assemble the apparatus thereon, and does not rely upon existing structures, such as hand rails to provide uniquely defined clips that attach to and support a mesh thereon via eccentric pin joiners and mesh clip buttons that sandwich the mesh there between.
The Preston patent (U.S. Pat. No. 4,129,197) discloses a safety-catch scaffolding system adaptable to the progressive growth of a building during construction having a series of spaced uprights, each having a plurality of vertically disposed slots for the sliding engagement of the edges of a plurality of frames. Again, the scaffolding system is not a highly adaptive barricading system that attaches a screen mesh to existing objects or surfaces via uniquely defined clips including eccentric pin joiners and mesh clip buttons.
The Handwerker patent (U.S. Pat. No. 3,480,069) discloses a temporary wall construction for a building site. However, the wall requires grommets to secure a panel to an exterior surface of a building, and is not adaptive to secure a mesh panel to other objects.
The Nusbaum patent (U.S. Pat. No. 4,838,382) discloses a safety net that is raised during construction of a multi-floor building without the use of tracks vertically attached to the outer building face. However, the safety net extends from a surface of a building away there from, and is not a mesh panel that is secured onto existing structures and objects via a plurality of unique defined clips.
The Kinder patent (U.S. Pat. No. 4,928,929) discloses a safety netting for use at construction sites to prevent objects from falling from upper stories. However, the safety netting does not work in conjunction with uniquely shaped clips that attach onto existing surfaces and objects, and which attach the netting thereon.
The Johnson patent (U.S. Pat. No. 5,182,889) discloses a barrier system that is lightweight and exceeds existing safety regulations. However, the barrier system employs the use of a plurality of rod-like, elongated bodies to support the mesh as opposed to uniquely defined clips that attach onto existing structure and which attach to a mesh panel.
While the above-described devices fulfill their respective and particular objects and requirements, they do not describe a barricading system that can be installed on a temporary or permanent basis for use with a building or structure so as to prevent objects from falling off of an elevated surface or floor; wherein the barricading system includes a mesh panel that clips into a plurality of uniquely defined clips, which support said mesh on or against an object or surface; wherein the plurality of uniquely defined clips are adapted for use with tubular objects, curbed surfaces, elongated edges, or to abut adjacent sections of mesh panels at varying angles; wherein the uniquely defined clips each include an eccentric pin joiner and a mesh clip button that attach onto the uniquely defined clip and which sandwich the mesh panel therein so as to secure the mesh panel to the respective clip; wherein a removal tool is included to aid in detaching the clips from the mesh panels and/or related surfaces. In this regard, the safety barricading system departs from the conventional concepts and designs of the prior art.